(FYR) Macedonia reveals Esma and Lozano’s “Imperija”…or has it?

Following Kaliopi’s star turn in Baku and her strong result with “Crno i Belo”, Macedonian broadcaster MKRTV decided to go for another internal selection, picking veteran Gypsy-folk superstar Esma Redžepova and pop singer Lozano to combine forces and perform an entry that blended the best of both of their worlds. The resulting song, “Imperija”, was premiered on Wednesday.

Soon after the song was unveiled, however, it was unceremoniously removed from the network’s official YouTube channel, much to the confusion of many. A few theories have been mentioned over these past few days: a producer’s decision to tweak or re-arrange the song or dissatisfaction regarding the buildings used in the video (supposedly linked to a contoversial architectural beautification project) being the most credible ideas. It is well within MKRTV’s rights as a delegation to change the song’s structure (or the song itself!) before the EBU’s March 18th deadline, and minor tweaks are still possible beyond that. We’ll have to wait and see what actually ends up on stage in Sweden this May!